A distinct feature of malignant gliomas is the intrinsic ability of single tumor cells to disperse throughout the brain, contributing to the failure of existing therapies to alter the progression and recurrence of these deadly brain tumors. Regrettably, the mechanisms underlying the inherent invasiveness of glioma cells are poorly understood. Here, we report for the first time that engulfment and cell motility 1 (ELMO1) and dedicator of cytokinesis 1 (Dock180), a bipartite Rac1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), are evidently linked to the invasive phenotype of glioma cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of primary human glioma specimens showed high expression levels of ELMO1 and Dock180 in actively invading tumor cells in the invasive areas, but not in the central regions of these tumors. Elevated expression of ELMO1 and Dock180 was also found in various human glioma cell lines compared with normal human astrocytes. Inhibition of endogenous ELMO1 and Dock180 expression significantly impeded glioma cell invasion in vitro and in brain tissue slices with a concomitant reduction in Rac1 activation. Conversely, exogenous expression of ELMO1 and Dock180 in glioma cells with low level endogenous expression increased their migratory and invasive capacity in vitro and in brain tissue. These data suggest that the bipartite GEF, ELMO1 and Dock180, play an important role in promoting cancer cell invasion and could be potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of diffuse malignant gliomas.


This is the 13. article in our series Trouble on the Far-Right.
The environment for populist radical right (PRR) parties in Europe is favourable. Both the refugee crisis as well as the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels have ostensibly fuelled further xenophobic and anti-Islam sentiments among European publics, on the basis of which PRR parties have been shown to build their support. Recent elections in Europe have indeed seen good results for parties with an outspoken xenophobic message, the victories in March 2016 for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the German regional elections and two far right parties (SNS and L'SNS) in the Slovak national elections being cases in point. Opinion polls in countries such as France and the Netherlands look equally promising for PRR parties. Even though not all European countries have witnessed the successful mobilisation of the PRR, it is fair to conclude that this party family is going strong. It would be too quick to conclude, however, that PRR parties only thrive on the recent salience of the immigration issue.


In the past, annular coded aperture images have been recon-structed by correlating an appropriately scaled annulus with the coded image. The basic improvement suggested in this paper is the addition of a linear radial frequency weighting in the Fourier plane. Reconstructions of point and disk objects were simulated with a computer program. The results show the advantage of this modification in the processing scheme. When the assumption is made that the detector is an Anger camera, the resolution obtained with the improved processing of the coded image is equal to that obtained with conventional apertures. An actual object consisting of the letter E was imaged with an annular aperture and a scintillation camera. The reconstruction with and without the improved processing is presented. In addition, the annulus is intermediate between the pinhole and the Fresnel zone plate with regard to both collection efficiency and the number of counts required for a given signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). It therefore offers an improvement over pinhole apertures without demanding the increased count rate and resolution required of detectors when Fresnel zone plate coded apertures are used.


New Orleans - The cosmetically engaged dermatologist has to pay attention to trends in botulinum use, according to Jean Carruthers, M.D. Dr. Carruthers and her husband, Alistair, introduced the neurotoxin for treatment of frown lines at the 1991 meeting of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgeons. The society embraced the born-again toxin and now, peering into 2004, predicts that it will prick through new frontiers. These include: enhancing upper lip fullness, treating enlarged masseter muscles, contouring the mandible area of the lower face, and eliminating multiple benign cystic lesions of the face.


A new compact, low cost, and high performance separator is being developed to help reduce the installed and O&M cost of geothermal power generation. This device has been given the acronym "BLISS" that stands for "Boundary Layer Inline Separator Scrubber". The device is the first of a series of separators, and in the case of injectates, scrubbers to address the cost-reduction needs of the industry. The BLISS is a multi-positional centrifugal separator primarily designed to be simply installed between pipe supports, in a horizontal position. This lower profile reduces the height safely concern for workers, and significantly reduces the total installation cost. The vessel can demand as little as one-quarter (25%) the amount of steel, traditionally required to fabricate many large vertical separators. The compact nature and high separating efficiency of this device are directly attributable to a high centrifugal force coupled with boundary layer control. The pseudo isokinetic flow design imparts a self-cleaning and scale resistant feature. This polishing separator is designed to remove moderate amounts of liquid and entrained solids.


3D object tracking in point clouds is still a challenging problem due to the sparsity of LiDAR points in dynamic environments. In this work, we propose a Siamese voxel-to-BEV tracker, which can significantly improve the tracking performance in sparse 3D point clouds. Specifically, it consists of a Siamese shape-aware feature learning network and a voxel-to-BEV target localization network. The Siamese shape-aware feature learning network can capture 3D shape information of the object to learn the discriminative features of the object so that the potential target from the background in sparse point clouds can be identified. To this end, we first perform template feature embedding to embed the template's feature into the potential target and then generate a dense 3D shape to characterize the shape information of the potential target. For localizing the tracked target, the voxel-to-BEV target localization network regresses the target's 2D center and the $z$-axis center from the dense bird's eye view (BEV) feature map in an anchor-free manner. Concretely, we compress the voxelized point cloud along $z$-axis through max pooling to obtain a dense BEV feature map, where the regression of the 2D center and the $z$-axis center can be performed more effectively. Extensive evaluation on the KITTI and nuScenes datasets shows that our method significantly outperforms the current state-of-the-art methods by a large margin.


While there is no doubt daylighting can offer great benefits in terms of energy consumption, sustainability and health, it is also highly sensitive to a careful planning and control. Not only must we try to increase the availability and use of daylight inside buildings, we must also ensure its quality and therefore its energy-efficient and user-responsive control. Any daylighting strategy has to be approached from an integrated perspective, encompassing its potential for illumination, heating and pleasantness and considering its liabilities in terms of glare, thermal discomfort, extra cooling needs and variability. This requires a careful planning based on accurate predictions, for which detailed transmission and reflection data of the fenestration components are essential.


We review the state-of-the-art in computational molecular simulations for biological systems. We limit our discussion to three fields: all-atom simulations, coarse-grained models, and novel multiscale approaches. While molecular dynamics simulations are broadly used in the community, major efforts continue to be spent in pushing the boundaries in both size and time limits as well as in improvement of commonly-used force fields. Parallel to all-atom simulations, in recent times the development of coarse-grained methods has flourished. Such techniques are able to describe biophysical features of macromolecular complexes through the use of simplified model potentials. Finally, multiscale models are introduced, giving some perspective about possible future developments in this new field.


SUMMARY

The Mw 9.0 off northeast Japan (Tohoku-oki) earthquake occurred on 2011 March 11 at the interface between the North American (NA) and Pacific (PA) plates. The occurrence of interplate earthquakes can be regarded as the sudden release of tectonic stress accumulated by the interseismic gradual increase of slip deficit in source regions. The inversion analysis of GPS velocity data for a seismically calm period (1996–2000) before the Tohoku-oki earthquake has revealed the existence of five remarkable slip-deficit zones distributed on the NA–PA plate interface along the southern Kuril-Japan trench. We analysed coseismic GPS displacement data for the Tohoku-oki earthquake with the same inversion method, and obtained the bimodal distribution of coseismic slip spreading over the southern two, Miyagi-oki and Fukushima-oki, interseismic slip-deficit zones. The maximum slip is 32 m for the Miyagi-oki slip-deficit zone but only 7 m for the Fukushima-oki slip-deficit zone. The extraordinarily large coseismic slip in the Miyagi-oki slip-deficit zone, where ordinarily large earthquakes with about 3 m coseismic slips have repeated every 40 yr in the past two centuries, suggests the total rupture of a 300-km-long basement asperity underlying much smaller-scale local asperities.


This project involves the analysis of both primary and secondary sources to investigate what caused men from three towns in Indiana to volunteer to fight in the Spanish-American War, a conflict that they had no personal reason to join. The predominantly-used primary sources were newspapers from the three towns in Indiana and speeches by politicians. These three towns were selected after careful analysis of demographic information including population and number of volunteers in the Spanish-American War from every major city in the state. To further expand on these ideas, political leanings and occupations were taken into account. Upon completing this study, it was discovered that both the rhetoric of pro-imperial politicians, the propaganda that filled the newspapers of the time, and the creation of the concept of glory and the valor that could be won through combat had an effect on the men's decision to register for a conflict in which the soldiers had no personal stake.


About 60% of the European wetlands are located in the European part of Russia. Nevertheless, data on methane emissions from wetlands of that area are absent. Here we present results of methane emission measurements for two climatically different years from a boreal peatland complex in European Russia. Winter fluxes were well within the range of what has been reported for the peatlands of other boreal regions before, but summer fluxes greatly exceeded the average range of 5–80 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 for the circumpolar boreal zone. Half of the measured fluxes ranged between 150 and 450 mg CH4 m−2 d−1. Extrapolation of our data to the whole boreal zone of European Russia shows that theses emissions could amount to up to 2.7 ± 1.1 Tg CH4 a−1, corresponding to 69% of the annual emissions from European wetlands or 33% of the total annual natural European methane emission. In 2008, climatic conditions corresponded to the long term mean, whereas the summer of 2011 was warmer and noticeably drier. Counterintuitively, these conditions led to even higher CH4 emissions, with peaks up to two times higher than the values measured in 2008. As Russian peatlands dominate the areal extend of wetlands in Europe and are characterized by very high methane fluxes to the atmosphere, it is evident, that sound European methane budgeting will only be achieved with more insight into Russian peatlands.


Gap junctional channels facilitate intercellular communication and in doing so may contribute to cellular differentiation. To test this hypothesis, we examined gap junction expression and function in a temperature-sensitive human fetal osteoblastic cell line (hFOB 1.19) that when cultured at 37 degrees C proliferates rapidly but when cultured at 39.5 degrees C proliferates slowly and displays increased alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin synthesis. We found that hFOB 1.19 cells express abundant connexin 43 (Cx43) protein and mRNA. In contrast, Cx45 mRNA was expressed to a lesser degree, and Cx26 and Cx32 mRNA were not detected. Culturing hFOB 1. 19 cells at 39.5 degrees C, relative to 37 degrees C, inhibited proliferation, increased Cx43 mRNA and protein expression, and increased gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). Blocking GJIC with 18alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid prevented the increase in alkaline phosphatase activity resulting from culture at 39.5 degrees C but did not affect osteocalcin levels. These results suggest that gap junction function and expression parallel osteoblastic differentiation and contribute to the expression of alkaline phosphatase activity, a marker for fully differentiated osteoblastic cells.


Qatar is the world leader in fuel production from gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology and home of the largest GTL plant in the world (Pearl GTL, a joint development by Qatar Petroleum and Shell). In the GTL process natural gas is converted into liquid fuels and waxes. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is the key part of that process. FTS is a heterogeneously catalyzed reaction in which a mixture of CO and H₂ is converted into a wide range of hydrocarbon products. Advanced design and optimization of large scale FTS reactors requires a detailed knowledge of reaction chemistry. Kinetic models used for this application need to be robust, physically reasonable and fundamental. This study will present one such a model. Experiments were conducted in a 1-L slurry reactor over 25% Co/0.48% Re/Al₂O₃ catalyst. A broad range of operating conditions was achieved (i.e., temperatures of 478, 493 and 503 K, pressures 1.5 and 2.5 MPa, H2/CO feed ratio 1.4 and 2.1 and gas space velocities of 1.0-22.5 NL/g-cat/h). Rate laws for the kinetic model have been derived using the CO-insertion mechanism and chain-length-dependent 1-olefin desorption concept. The model accounts for the formation of n-paraffins and 1-olefins. CO hydrogenation and insertion of CO into the growing chain are considered to be rate determining, as well as the chain termination steps. Non-isothermal model parameters are estimated by minimization of a multi-response objective function. A global minimum is obtained with the hybrid genetic algorithm and a total of 696 experimental responses used in the estimation. Estimated model parameters are meaningful, considering physicochemical tests and statistical tests. They are also in a good agreement with previously reported values for activation energies. The model fit is in good agreement with experimental data and the mean absolute relative residual (MARR) was 24%. The model also provides a good prediction of CO and H₂ rates of consumption, with a MARR of 17.7 and 16.1%, respectively. The main advantage of the proposed model is its ability to explain and predict the main features of GTL product distribution in a physically meaningful and fundamental way over a wide range of industrially relevant process conditions.


In this paper, a classical system of ordinary differential equations is built to describe a kind of n-dimensional quantum systems. The absorption spectrum and the density of the states for the system are defined from the points of quantum view and classical view. From the Birkhoffian form of the equations, a Birkhoffian symplectic scheme is derived for solving n-dimensional equations by using the generating function method. Besides the Birkhoffian structurepreserving, the new scheme is proven to preserve the discrete local energy conservation law of the system with zero vector f. Some numerical experiments for a 3-dimensional example show that the new scheme can simulate the general Birkhoffian system better than the implicit midpoint scheme, which is well known to be symplectic scheme for Hamiltonian system.


chromosomal abnormality in the study population. The depth of the pericardial effusion was not related to the clinical course of isolated pericardial effusion. All studied babies were alive and healthy when this study was prepared. Conclusions: There were no adverse outcomes or chromosomal anomalies among fetuses diagnosed with isolated pericardial effusion. Most cases of fetal isolated pericardial effusion resolved spontaneously. If no other abnormality is detected upon meticulous inspection, our results will be reassuring to patients who have a fetus diagnosed with isolated pericardial effusion.


: New medical devices make it possible to care at home for patients who are dependent on ventilators, have cardiac problems, or need respiratory monitors, dialysis, or high-risk pregnancy monitoring. Yet this technology has also increased risks for this growing industry. Can these risks be addressed and lessened?


Over 40 contemporary artists have made new artworks in response to a postcard version of Velazquez's masterpiece, Las Meninas for an exhibition at General Practice in Lincoln. 'Enough is Definitely Enough' which opens on 30 March and runs to 13 April, features a huge variety of different artistic responses to the Spanish painter's masterpiece - arguably the most widely interpreted of all paintings.

Art Historian Daniel Arasse reflected many people's view that everything, or perhaps even nothing, has been said about Las Meninas -"what's the difference, enough is definitely enough!". The artists in the exhibition build upon previous interpretations by renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Richard Hamilton, Francesco Goya and Eve Sussman. Artists have long been actively influenced by the centuries old painting by Velazquez; with their responses, in turn, offering influence back to Las Meninas to enable new readings. With the artworks made for 'Enough is Definitely Enough' there is potential for new relationships with Velasquez's original painting to open up.

The exhibition is curated by Andrew Bracey and forms part of his PhD research at the University of Lincoln. He is exploring how contemporary artists have used and appropriated existing paintings by other artists, through a position of using the metaphor of the parasite and symbiosis in connection with painting.


Recent meta-analytic reviews have documented that the sexes typically differ in a variety of social behaviors, including aggression, helping, nonverbal behavior, and various aspects of inter-action in task-oriented groups. In general, these findings are consistent with a social-role theory of sex differences, which emphasizes the causal impact of gender roles-that is, of people's beliefs about the behavior that is appropriate for each sex. To move beyond the demonstration of consistency between role expectations and social behavior, meta-analyses have examined the moderators and mediators specified by this theoretical model The outcomes of these moderator and mediator analyses are illustrated from several meta-analyses of gender and social behavior. These meta-analyses thus show that quantitative reviewing is not limited to the mere summarizing of research findings; the technique also allows reviewers to examine the plausibility of theories that are relevant to these findings.


Although the concept of forest ecosystem management based on natural disturbance has generated a great deal of interest, few concrete examples exist of FEM principles being put into application. Silvicultural practices that emulate natural disturbances are proposed with examples from the principal vegetation zones of Quebec. With the exception of the large-scale use of careful logging to protect advanced regeneration in ecosystems generally controlled by fire, stand-level silvicultural practices currently used are reasonably similar to natural disturbances, although important differences exist. In contrast, at the forest-level, even-aged management, as is currently practised, rarely permits adequate reproduction of the variety of age classes, stand types, and structural components normally found in the boreal forest. A model that allows an even-aged management approach inspired by natural dynamics is proposed.


Treatment failure in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) occurs when leukemic blasts acquire resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Current research efforts are focused on the search for targets for the development of more effective and less toxic anti-leukemic drugs. CD47 has been suggested to be involved in chemo-resistance and cell metastasis. Although several potential mechanisms were suggested to explain the therapeutic effect of CD47-targeting; the downstream effectors which lead to different effects by CD47 are still not well understood. In this preliminary study we assessed the role of Protein kinase C (PKC) in CD47-mediated phosphatidylserine expression pathway in jurkat T cells. Jurkat T cells were incubated with anti-CD47 mAb (BRIC 126), anti-CD44 mAb (BRIC 235) or control in the presence or absence of Bisindolylmaleimide I, hydrochloride (PKC inhibitor). Cells were stained with annexin-V FITC. Flow cytometry analysis was used for measurement of fluorescence intensity. Cell viability was detected using trypan blue exclusion test. PKC inhibition enhanced phosphatidylserine expression in CD47 receptor mediated leukaemia cells apoptotic pathway. This indicates that PKC may be involved in CD47- mediated PS exposure pathway in jurkat T cells. The observations from this study identify CD47 and PKC as novel functional proteins in jurkat T cells with promising therapeutic potential. This study would provide insight for targeted therapy against T- ALL disease.


We used a sol–gel spin coating technique to synthesize nanocomposite thin films based on zinc oxide (ZnO) loaded with silver nanoparticles (NPs). We tested these ZnO/Ag NPs photocatalysts, with a thickness of about 100 nm, for the photodegradation of the indigo carmine dye solution. The study focused on the effects of Ag NPs on the ZnO matrix as well as the impact of their concentration on the photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposite. The study also highlighted the high stability of the photocatalytic performance of these nanocomposites. This work is a contribution in the search for non-toxic thin film photocatalysts that is usable under solar radiation for the treatment of contaminated wastewater. Innovation in the field of heterogeneous photocatalysis requires the use of solar resource with efficient results in terms of photocatalytic performance.


In this paper, we consider an inverse problem in graph learning domain -- ``given the graph representations smoothed by Graph Convolutional Network (GCN), how can we reconstruct the input graph signal?"We propose Graph Deconvolutional Network (GDN) and motivate the design of GDN via a combination of inverse filters in spectral domain and de-noising layers in wavelet domain, as the inverse operation results in a high frequency amplifier and may amplify the noise. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on several tasks including graph feature imputation and graph structure generation.


Mutual policing is thought to be important in conflict suppression at all levels of biological organization. In hymenopteran societies (bees, ants, and wasps), multiple mating by queens favors mutual policing of male production among workers (worker policing). However, worker policing of male production is proving to be more widespread than predicted by relatedness patterns, occurring in societies headed by single‐mated queens in which, paradoxically, workers are more related to the workers' sons that they kill than the queen's sons that they spare. Here we develop an inclusive‐fitness model to show that a second reproductive conflict, the conflict over sex allocation, can explain the evolution of worker policing contrary to relatedness predictions. Among ants, and probably other social Hymenoptera, workers kill males to favor their more related sisters. Importantly, males are killed at the larval stage, presumably because workers cannot determine the sex of queen‐laid eggs. Sex‐allocation biasing favors worker policing because policing removes some males (the workers' sons) at low cost at the egg stage rather than at higher cost at the larval stage. Our model reveals an important interaction between two reproductive conflicts in which the presence of one conflict (sex allocation) favors the suppression of the other (male production by workers).


Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a highly diverse group of synthetic chemicals that are released into the environment from human activities and display a host of adverse effects in wildlife and humans. Perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) are one major group of industrial chemicals that are globally produced in vast quantities and are subject to various global regulations. However, PFASs are present in the Earth's Polar Regions and yet little is known about their environmental fate and behaviour, particularly their accumulation and fate in snow and ice and the wider cryosphere. Moreover, climate change is altering the cryosphere, affecting sea ice and its properties for example, which in turn may affect the biogeochemical cycling of these pollutants and could lead to altered or enhanced biological exposure and uptake. This thesis examines the accumulation of PFASs in snow and firn as a useful recorder of environmental contamination in Antarctica, a region which lacks a multi-decadal time series of air monitoring data. The thesis also investigates in detail the processes that result in the uptake, distribution and accumulation of persistent organic pollutants in sea ice, particularly in the context of a warmer Arctic, where sea ice is now dominated by brine-rich single season ice. There is a lack of monitoring data on the levels of PFASs in Antarctica, and so a snow core was taken from Kohnen Station (East Antarctica plateau) to determine the historical deposition rates in the region. Results revealed low or non-detectable levels of perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs) but showed increasing trends of perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) between 1958 – 2017. Deposition rates for PFCAs in snow varied depending on chain length, with PFBA (C4) showing up to 2-orders of magnitude higher (1.3 and 280 ng m-2 yr-1) than PFOA (C8) (1.6 and 12.6 ng m-2 yr-1). Furthermore, correlations between PFCAs of varying chain length were strong (r2 > 0.7, p < 0.01). This information suggests that PFASs in the remote polar region, dominated in the main by the PFCAs, share similar transport pathways which can be largely attributed to the long-range atmospheric transport of volatile chemical precursors, which includes fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and other new CFC-replacement compounds. Together, this shows that global emissions of this group of chemicals is ongoing and have continued to rise following regulatory measures and also demonstrates the usefulness of a snow/firn core as a proxy for past atmospheric levels. In lieu of air monitoring infrastructure across Antarctica, then analysis of dated snow/ice cores provide a useful 'barometer' for global pollution and allow the effectiveness of international regulations in curbing the use of certain chemicals to be realized. Given the marked alterations to the cryosphere through climate change, there is a need to assess how the biogeochemical cycling of chemical contaminants may also be affected, particularly with respect to changing sea ice and altered pathways of exposure to organisms at the base of the marine food web. Hence, a series of laboratory experiments (in a dedicated sea ice chamber) were conducted in order to understand the chemical fate and behaviour of various 'legacy' and 'emerging' POPs in artificial sea ice. Results showed that POPs are incorporated into sea ice during its formation and growth with their distribution strongly influenced by salt (brine) dynamics. Enrichment factors (i.e. relative concentration) also demonstrate that some POPs (e.g., long-chain PFASs) behave differently with respect to other homologues, leading to their enrichment in bulk sea ice by up to 3-fold more (with respect to salt). This suggests that additional factors which are independent of physical processes also play a role in their environmental behaviour and chemical uptake during ice growth. Further results gathered from a controlled melt experiment indicates that this behaviour is related to the physicochemical properties of POPs, which alters the chemical partitioning between solid (i.e. ice) and liquid (i.e. brine) phases within sea ice. Importantly, concentrations of POPs were calculated for the in-situ brine environment, which show that POPs are present at significantly higher concentrations (e.g. up to 1-order of magnitude higher for PFOA) than in the initial underlying seawater and indicates the importance of brine for controlling chemical fate and biological exposure in young/single season sea ice, the dominant ice type in a warming Arctic. The presence of PFASs in the polar marine environment raises particular concern during summer when periods of high biological activity may be accompanied by intense chemical uptake and subsequent transfer through the marine food web. Moreover, the occurrence of icerafted snowpack along with the thinning of sea ice observed in recent decades risks the formation of more snow-ice, an ice type that is particularly susceptible to rapid melting through surface temperature fluctuations, which in turn could release its chemical burden into the underlying ocean. Various samples of sea ice, snow and under-ice seawater were collected during late summer in the Arctic. Based on previously determined differences in partitioning and environmental tendencies of PFASs with varying chain length, chemicals were grouped into short-chain (C4 − C7) and long-chain (C8 −C14) PFASs. Concentrations of ΣPFAS short-chain (around 3.0 ng L-1 ) were significantly higher in comparison to ΣPFAS long-chain (around 0.1 ng L-1) in snow. While in seawater, concentrations of ΣPFAS long-chain (around 1.0 ng L-1) were higher than ΣPFAS short-chain (around 0.4 ng L-1). This demonstrates that snow is still a major atmospheric pathway of contemporary PFASs (predominantly short-chain PFASs) to the Arctic marine environment and also shows seawater holds a large chemical burden of PFAS (historical and current) emissions. PFASs were also measured in sea ice and the levels and composition reflected inputs from snow and seawater. In particular, some surface layers (i.e. snow-ice) displayed especially high concentrations of ΣPFAS short-chain (up to 32 ng L-1) and ΣPFAS long-chain (up to 2.6 ng L-1). Furthermore, results showed that PFAS concentrations in the under-ice seawater were over 2-fold higher at one site which is suspected to have endured an early season melting episode. These results demonstrate that snow and sea ice are important dynamic reservoirs of these chemicals, and that rapid melting can dramatically influence the transfer and hence concentrations in adjacent compartments like surface seawater. In summary, the main findings from this thesis indicate that atmospheric transport of POPs and their chemical precursors from industrial regions to very remote regions like Antarctica (and well removed from local anthropogenic activities) is ongoing and continuing to rise. Secondly, the incorporation, distribution and enrichment of POPs in sea ice is strongly influenced by the presence and dynamics of ice brine; a major feature in fresh, single season ice which now dominates ice cover across the Arctic Ocean. Thirdly, snow-ice and hence the ice-rafted snowpack contains relatively high concentrations of PFAS. These findings in combination with changes to the physical aspects of the ice environment such as the transition from thicker multi-year sea ice a much thinner first-year sea ice, extreme temperature fluctuations and hence earlier and more intense seasonal ice melting, are all likely to influence the biogeochemistry and cycling of POPs in the Polar marine environment. In particular, sympagic organisms of the lower marine food web (e.g. ice algae, copepods, amphipods etc) whose niche includes brine channels on the underside of sea-ice may be subject to increased contaminant exposure in a warming Arctic


The aim of this paper is to examine the differences and similarities in housing policies in the four Latin American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The paper uses the welfare regime approach, modified by a recognition of path dependence, to identify a number of phases that each country has passed through. However, attention is drawn to the substantial differences in the circumstances in each country and the extent and duration of the different phases. It is concluded that it can be beneficial to use the concept of a Latin American housing regime, but that this general picture has to be used with an understanding of the path dependence caused by the particular context in the individual countries.


In this paper, the effect of discharge region temperature on the yield of singlet oxygen (O2 (a 1∆g)) in an electric discharge oxygen iodine laser is theoretically studied to analyze optimum discharge conditions. This study, was done by considering the saturation of O2 (a 1∆g) due to super-elastic electron collisions and O2 (a 1∆g) dissociation by electron impact. Rate equations were solved using two terms approximation of Boltzmann equation. The results show that when the electron temperature was in the Te= 1.9-2.1 eV range, it causes removing the main part of the atomic oxygen O ( 3 P) from the discharge region, and the maximum yield of O2 (a 1∆g) was obtained to be about 45%.


Purpose: One of the challenges of adoptive T-cell therapy is the development of immune-mediated toxicities including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity (NT). We aimed to identify factors that place patients at high risk of severe toxicity or treatment-related death in a cohort of 75 patients with large B-cell lymphoma treated with a standard of care CD19 targeted CAR T-cell product (axicabtagene ciloleucel). Experimental Design: Serum cytokine and catecholamine levels were measured prior to lymphodepleting chemotherapy, on the day of CAR T infusion and daily thereafter while patients remained hospitalized. Tumor biopsies were taken within 1 month prior to CAR T infusion for evaluation of gene expression. Results: We identified an association between pretreatment levels of IL6 and life-threatening CRS and NT. Because the risk of toxicity was related to pretreatment factors, we hypothesized that the tumor microenvironment (TME) may influence CAR T-cell toxicity. In pretreatment patient tumor biopsies, gene expression of myeloid markers was associated with higher toxicity. Conclusions: These results suggest that a proinflammatory state and an unfavorable TME preemptively put patients at risk for toxicity after CAR T-cell therapy. Tailoring toxicity management strategies to patient risk may reduce morbidity and mortality.


Indications from the initial phase of this study suggest that key marketing fundamentals apparent in this business sector differ significantly from those generally recognisable in commodity, consumer product and industrial marketing. It is postulated that whilst these differences are probably symptomatic of particular professional service practice norms and business ethics the formulation, implementation and evaluation of effective marketing can be facilitated utilising appropriate contemporary marketing paradigms. This study explores the current marketing milieu in a multinational professional services organisation and attempts to identify factors relevant to marketing within the organisation. The objective of this study was to identify the critical factors that influence the successful marketing of professional services and to develop a framework to support these findings. In order to accomplish this objective, the study was undertaken from a phenomenological, rather than a positivist paradigm. An exploratory quantitative Likert-scale survey combined with the allowance for qualitative open-ended comments/ feedback was adopted. The quantitative study incorporated employees in managerial, middle and junior roles from the Specific Professional Services Organisation 'SPSO's' national offices based in Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town. Marketing representatives from the 'SPSO's' international offices were also included in the survey. It can be summarised that the main factors influencing the marketing of professional services can be grouped according to Strategy, Product/ Service, Price, Place, Promotion, Physical Evidence, People, Process, and Other. A framework was devised, comprising the nine identified groups of factors including correlating recommendations, as well as a tabular outlay of additional constructive qualitative comments recorded from respondents with recommendations.


The discourse of historic building conservation assumes a language of intrinsic value
in the historic building, detected and managed by experts in local and national
agencies. For the less-acclaimed buildings of the twentieth century a separate
discourse has emerged of 'difference'. requiring explanation. Through this research I
show how this discourse of difference has prompted new protocols for the
management of listed. post-war public housing. I do this through a mixed-methods
approach, combining interviews with filming. drawing. photo-solicitation and walks,
mixed with document analysis.
Driven by narratives of reception. I show how at Spa Green and Park Hill two very
different outcomes have resulted. At Spa Green the persuasive interactions of
participants with the building fabric consolidate the reputation of the architecture
and confirm it within the heritage canon. These interactions also revealed new
forms of expertise not recognised within formal conservation protocols. At Park
Hill, by contrast. sequential and preferred narratives of success, failure and success
drew focus upon the architects' intentions for the relationship of the architecture to
Sheffield. the making of a community and materials of construction. Through the
persuasive actions of certain experts involved with the estate, intention was
privileged over its materiality.
These two, different. approaches I see rooted in shifting value emphases in
conservation practice. Spa Green reflects the discourse of government policy PPG
15 and its concern with material and formal authenticity. At Park Hill I show a shift
towards its replacement, PPSS, and its wider narratives of meaning, harm and public
benefits. I identify a new privileging of intention for post-war architecture that has
gained ascendancy over the normative protection of authentic form and fabric. This
has allowed for much greater alteration to building form at Park Hill than might
previously have been countenanced. perhaps even changing the nature of what is
protected.


Plants rely on ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) for carbon fixation. Higher plant Rubisco possesses an L8S8 structure, with the large subunit (LS) encoded in the chloroplast by rbcL and the small subunit encoded by the nuclear RBCS gene family. Because its components accumulate stoichiometrically but are encoded in two genetic compartments, rbcL and RBCS expression must be tightly coordinated. Although this coordination has been observed, the underlying mechanisms have not been defined. Here, we use tobacco to understand how LS translation is related to its assembly status. To do so, two transgenic lines deficient in LS biogenesis were created: a chloroplast transformant expressing a truncated and unstable LS polypeptide, and a line where a homolog of the maize Rubisco-specific chaperone, BSD2, was repressed by RNAi. We found that in both lines, LS translation is no longer regulated by the availability of small subunit (SS), indicating that LS translation is not activated by the presence of its assembly partner but, rather, undergoes an autoregulation of translation. Pulse labeling experiments indicate that LS is synthesized but not accumulated in the transgenic lines, suggesting that accumulation of a repressor motif is required for LS assembly-dependent translational regulation.


Background miRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression and have critical functions in various biological processes. Hundreds of miRNAs have been identified in mammalian genomes but only a small number of them have been functionally characterized. Recent studies also demonstrate that some miRNAs have important roles in reprogramming somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Methods We screened 52 miRNAs cloned in a piggybac (PB) vector for their roles in reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblast cells to iPSCs. To identify targets of miRNAs, we made Dgcr8-deficient embryonic stem (ES) cells and introduced miRNA mimics to these cells, which lack miRNA biogenesis. The direct target genes of miRNA were identified through global gene expression analysis and target validation. Results and conclusion We found that over-expressing miR-25 or introducing miR-25 mimics enhanced production of iPSCs. We identified a number of miR-25 candidate gene targets. Of particular interest were two ubiquitin ligases, Wwp2 and Fbxw7, which have been proposed to regulate Oct4, c-Myc and Klf5, respectively. Our findings thus highlight the complex interplay between miRNAs and transcription factors involved in reprogramming, stem cell self-renewal and maintenance of pluripotency.


Current clinical guidelines for managing chronic myeloid leukemia include molecular monitoring of BCR-ABL1 transcript quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. Despite the proven prognostic significance of molecular response, it is not widely appreciated that quantitative reverse-transcription PCR potentially produces highly variable data, which may affect the validity of results, making comparability between different laboratories difficult. Therefore, standardized reporting of BCR-ABL1 measurements is needed for optimal clinical management. An approach to achieve comparable BCR-ABL1 values is the use of an international reporting scale. Conversion to the international scale is achieved by the application of laboratory specific conversion factor that is obtained by using validated secondary reference calibrators. Moreover, with the aim to mitigate the interlaboratory imprecision of quantitative BCR-ABL1 measurements and to facilitate local laboratory results interpretation and reporting, we decide to prepare laboratory guidelines that will further facilitate interlaboratory comparative studies and independent quality-assessment programs, which are of paramount importance for worldwide standardization of BCR-ABL1 monitoring results, in particular for those most isolated laboratories, with not easy access to commercial kits or sample interchange programs.


In a prospective study a single dose PGE2 gel 0.5 mg was given in 97 Low Bishop Score subjects, 12 hrs prior to indicated oxytocin or PGE2 tab induction for cervical ripening. Analysis of 97 subjects shows that it is very highly effective. 56 primi and 21 multi delivered spontaneously with gel administration only while 4 primi and 2 multi delivered vaginally following oxytocin and 3 more cases delivered vaginally following PGE2 tab administration and fewer caesarian section (11) were performed. The endo cervical administration of PGE2 was well tolerated and systemic PGE2 effects were minimal.


Summary orthopedic surgery from the standpoint of the Spanish national health system. Episodes avoided and life-years gained with each treatment were estimated by a meta-analysis of clinical trials. Results: With enoxaparin fewer thromboembolic episodes and deaths occurred, when compared to the available alternative options. Enoxaparin was the dominant option (lower total cost and equal or greater effectiveness than any alternative option) in compa- rison with non-prophylaxis, tinzaparin, and unfractionated heparin. A sensitivity analysis confirmed the stability of these results. Conclusion: The administration of enoxaparin as a prophylac- tic treatment for venous thromboembolic disease in patients under- going hip or knee surgery is a cost-effective intervention in every case, and less expensive than the alternative options used in Spain.


The present study aims at an assessment of the information seeking behavior of lawyers of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh. The questionnaire was used as data collection tool and was distributed randomly among 200 advocates. Total 86 lawyers responded to the questionnaire making response rate of 44%. The study revealed that under influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the majority of respondents are using the Internet and e-resources to access information. At the same time, the significance of print format has not diminished as ¾ of respondents prefer to use both print as well as e-resources to find required information. The study concluded with the need for library professionals to adopt proactive approach to prove their worth to the law professionals by satisfying later's information needs.


The effects of propranolol and proteinuria on the fasting lipoprotein profiles of 33 male renal allograft recipients have been studied. By isolating the two variables by division of the patients into four groups according to propranolol dose and proteinuria, i.e. 1. propranolol = 0 mg/24 hr, proteinuria; less than 0.5 g/24 hr; 2. propranolol less than 0 mg/24 hr, proteinuria; less than 0.5 g/24 hr; 3. propranolol = 0 mg/24 hr, proteinuria; less than 0.5 g/24 hr; and 4. propranolol greater than 0 mg/24 hr, proteinuria; greater than 0.5 g/24 hr, it has been shown that propranolol treatment elevates the very low density lipoprotein triglyceride and decreases the high density lipoprotein cholesterol and that proteinuria (greater than 0.5 g/24 hr) increases low density lipoprotein cholesterol. The possible significance of these results in terms of transplantee management is discussed.


The flight model of the laser system for the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument within the ExoMars 2020 mission for Martian planetary surface exploration has been developed, assembled, tested, and finally integrated to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) mass spectrometer. The nanosecond laser system consists of a longitudinally pumped, passively Q-switched Nd:YAG based laser oscillator with a two-stage frequency doubling to 266 nm. The laser design was implemented in robust and lightweight models of the laser head (LH) with the pump unit in a separate electronics box. In parallel to the laser head integration and testing, materials and optics qualification and acceptance tests have been performed, e.g. to determine the optical damage threshold or the susceptibility to laser induced contamination processes. Before delivery to the NASA GSFC for integration to the mass spectrometer (MS) flight model (FM), the laser system has been qualified in an environmental test campaign including vibration, shock and thermal-vacuum testing. After delivery to GSFC and integration to the FM MS, the system has been successfully re-tested on the instrument level.


ABSTRACT Meta-pelitic rocks with interlayers of meta-psammites within the inner thermal aureole of the Alvand plutonic complex (Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone (SaSZ), western Iran) underwent partial melting; generating various types of migmatites. The mesosome of the Hamedan migmatites is classified into two groups: (1) cordierite-rich and Al-silicate-poor mesosomes and (2) cordierite-poor, Al-silicate-rich groups. Leucosomes are also variable, ranging from plagioclase-rich to K-feldspar-rich leucosomes. Mineral-chemical studies and thermobarometric estimations indicate temperature and pressure of 640–700°C and 3–5 kbar, respectively, for the formation of mesosomes. U–Pb zircon geochronology on 214 grains from the mesosome of migmatites indicates ages of 160–180 Ma (ca ~170 Ma) for zircon metamorphic rims and variable ages of 190–2590 Ma for the inherited detrital zircon cores. Inherited core ages show various age populations, but age populations at 200–600 Ma are more frequent. The age populations of the detrital zircons clarify that the provenance of the younger zircon grains (200–500 Ma) was more likely the Iranian plate, whereas the older grains (600 Ma to >2.5 Ga) may be sourced from both northern Gondwana (such as Arabian-Nubian Shield) and the neighbouring, old cratons like as Africa. We suggest that magmatic activities, especially mafic plutonism at ~167 Ma, are the main triggers for the heat source of metamorphism, partial melting, and migmatization. In contrast to a presumed idea for a Cretaceous regional metamorphic event in the NW parts of the SaSZ, this study attests that the metamorphism should be older and can be associated with Jurassic magmatic pulses.


Using film dosimetry and an Alderson skull phantom, the iso-dose distribution during tomography of the petrous bone was investigated. We were particularly concerned with the radiation dose to the lens of the eye, the critical organ in the skull, and to the inner ear, using different types of examination and various positions of the skull. The choice of suitable film material and standardisation against TLD measurements is crucial for the accuracy of film dosimetry, allowing for correction of film blackening in relation to varying energies. Tomography of the petrous bone in the prone position produced a reduction in radiation dose to the eye to only 1 to 4% of the dose incident on the occiput. In this way, and using high definition screen and grinds, it is possible to obtain optimal tomographic images despite drastic reduction of the scattered radiation to the eye. Radiation dose to the inner ear is greatly below any significant somatic does, irrespective of projection or technique. Special measures to reduce radiation to the inner ear are neither effective nor sensible.


Characterizing the biomechanical properties of articular cartilage is crucial to understanding processes of tissue homeostasis vs. degeneration. In mouse models, however, limitations are imposed by their small joint size and thin cartilage surfaces. Here we present a 3D automated surface mapping system and methodology that allows for mechanical characterization of mouse cartilage with high spatial resolution. We performed repeated indentation mappings, followed by cartilage thickness measurement via needle probing, at 31 predefined positions distributed over the medial and lateral femoral condyles of healthy mice. High-resolution 3D x-ray microscopy (XRM) imaging was used to validate tissue thickness measurements. The automated indentation mapping was reproducible, and needle probing yielded cartilage thicknesses comparable to XRM imaging. When comparing healthy vs. degenerated cartilage, topographical variations in biomechanics were identified, with altered thickness and stiffness (instantaneous modulus) across condyles and within anteroposterior sub-regions. This quantitative technique comprehensively characterized cartilage function in mice femoral condyle cartilage. Hence, it has the potential to improve our understanding of tissue structure-function interplay in mouse models of repair and disease.


The two-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Gaussian broadcast channel (BC) with common, private and confidential messages is considered. The transmitter sends a common message to both users, a confidential message to User 1 and a private (non-confidential) message to User 2. The secrecy-capacity region is characterized by showing that certain inner and outer bounds coincide and that the boundary points are achieved by Gaussian inputs. The proof relies on factorization of upper concave envelopes and a variant of dirty-paper coding (DPC). The entire region is exhausted by using DPC to cancel out the signal of the non-confidential message at Receiver 1, making DPC against the signal of the confidential message unnecessary. The secrecy-capacity results are visualized using a numerical example.


: Eight bilharzial patients with hepatosplenomegaly who underwent splenectomy under ether anaesthesia were studied. The levels of iron, zinc, titanium, aluminium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus were determined in the plasmas and RBCs both preoperatively and up to four days postoperatively. Preoperatively the bilharzial patients were found to have subnormal levels of the studied elements except aluminium in plasma. The effect of ether anaesthesia and surgery (splenectomy) was marked on the second postoperative day. All the elements displayed a tendency towards reaching preoperative levels by the fourth day except titanium which was still elevated. Metal ions particularly zinc and magnesium should be monitored in bilharzial patients in general and in the advanced cases in particular, who are undergoing major surgery. This should be done as a precautionary measure especially since these patients have subnormal metal ion levels.


Emergency response in hostile environments often involves remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that are teleoperated as interaction with the environment is typically required. Many ROV tasks are common to such scenarios and are often recurrent. We show how a probabilistic approach can be used to learn a task behavior model from data. Such a model can then be used to assist an operator performing the same task in future missions. We show how this approach can capture behaviors (constraints) that are present in the training data, and how this model can be combined with the operator's input online. We present an illustrative planar example and elaborate with a non-Destructive testing (NDT) scanning task on a teleoperation mock-up using a two-armed Baxter robot. We demonstrate how our approach can learn from examples task specific behaviors and automatically control the overall system, combining the operator's input and the learned model online, in an assistive teleoperation manner. This can potentially reduce the time and effort required to perform teleoperation tasks that are commonplace to ROV missions in the context of security, maintenance and rescue robotics.


Background:Halothane inhibits airway smooth muscle contraction in part by inhibiting the functional coupling between muscarinic receptors and one of its cognate heterotrimeric G proteins, G&agr;q. Based on previous studies indicating a more potent effect of halothane and sevoflurane on airway smooth muscle contraction compared with isoflurane, the current study hypothesized that at anesthetic concentrations of 2 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) or less, halothane and sevoflurane but not isoflurane inhibit acetylcholine-promoted G&agr;q guanosine nucleotide exchange. Methods:G&agr;q guanosine nucleotide exchange was measured in crude membranes prepared from COS-7 cells transiently coexpressing the human M3 muscarinic receptor and human G&agr;q. A radioactive, nonhydrolyzable analog of guanosine-5′-triphosphate, [35S]GTP&ggr;S, was used as a reporter for nucleotide exchange at G&agr;q. Results:Acetylcholine caused a concentration-dependent increase in G&agr;q [35S]GTP&ggr;S–GDP exchange. Neither anesthetic affected constitutive G&agr;q [35S]GTP&ggr;S–GDP exchange in the absence of acetylcholine. Conversely, each anesthetic caused a concentration-dependent and reversible inhibition of G&agr;q [35S]GTP&ggr;S–GDP exchange when promoted by acetylcholine. At concentrations of 3 MAC or less, the effect of halothane and sevoflurane were significantly greater than that of isoflurane, with only a minimal inhibition by isoflurane observed at 2 MAC. Conclusion:The differential effects of volatile anesthetics on acetylcholine-promoted guanosine nucleotide exchange at G&agr;q are consistent with the apparent more potent direct effect of halothane and sevoflurane compared with isoflurane on muscarinic receptor–mediated contraction of isolated airway smooth muscle. These differential effects also suggest a mode of anesthetic action that could be due to anesthetic–protein interactions and not simply anesthetic accumulation in the lipid membrane.


This paper presents a novel European Master programme on Software Engineering (SE), being put forward by four leading institutions from Sweden, UK, Netherlands and Italy. The Global SE European Master (GSEEM) programme aims to provide students with an excellence in SE based on sound theoretical foundations and practical experience, as well as preparing them to participate in the global development of complex and large software systems. GSEEM has been designed with two aspects of note: 1) the three specialization profiles in which the consortium excels: Software Architecting, Real-time Embedded Systems Engineering, and Web Systems and Services Engineering; 2) an innovative concept of `shared modules', delivered all together by multiple institutions. Four types of shared modules are foreseen: `parallel' twin modules, which run remotely between universities, `shifted' modules, which teach SE concepts incrementally with shifts in study locations and timeline, `complementary' modules in which complementary SE concepts are taught in parallel through shared projects, and `common' modules, which share the presentations and the project. The profiles realize `integrated knowledge' by complementing partial knowledge available at partner institutions. The paper presents some of the important issues faced during the design of the program and explains how GSEEM achieves the objectives of educating global software engineers. The lessons learned from the GSEEM design are of a technical, pedagogical and organisational or administrative nature.


Some growth parameters of the western North Pacific dalli-type Dall's porpoise were estimated from 167 specimens taken with hand-held harpoons on two cruises and compared with data obtained previously from porpoises killed incidentally in the salmon gill net fishery. These parameters were compared with previously published figures for the Japanese coastal population. Individuals from the Pacific coast of Japan (96% were truei-type) attained sexual maturity at body lengths 12 to l 7cm larger than dalli-type individuals in the offshore waters. This is an indication of genetic differentiation between the two populations in addition to the previously reported external pigmentation. The possible usefulness of the growth parameters for the detection of genetic isolation between two major color types off the Pacific coast of Japan is indicated.


The numerical modeling method of ice load and ice-shedding load on a transmission line is presented. The dynamic responses of multispan transmission lines with different structural parameters, including span length, number of spans, elevation difference between two suspension ends of the ice-shedding span, length of suspension insulator strings, and number of subconductors in a bundle conductor and conductor type, after ice shedding with different rates are investigated by means of the ABAQUS software. Based on the numerical results, it is discovered that the maximum vertical jump height of a transmission line after ice shedding, which determines the phase-to-phase and phase-to-tower insulation clearances, relates linearly to the sag difference of the conductor in the two static states before and after ice shedding. A simple formula to determine the jump height of a transmission line after ice shedding is suggested for the design of transmission lines in ice zones.


At the end of 20th century, deinstitutionalisation of mentally ill patients has become the focus of attention, globally. Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare satisfaction of mentally ill patients moving from hospital to community based settings (Guest houses, Boarding houses) with their previous hospital stay. Method and Material: The sample study included 200 patients, moving to Guest houses and Boarding houses from a psychiatric public hospital of Athens. Data was collected by the completion of a special designed questionnaire for the needs of the present research which explored satisfaction by personal hygiene, nutrition, sense of safety, sociability, education and professional opportunities and financial support. The reliability of instrument was 0,89. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS-16 and statistical methods were t-test and Anova. Results: From the 200 participants, 54,5% was men and 45,5% women of which 87,5% was older than 40 years old. 40% of the sample-studied were living in Guest houses and 60% in Boarding houses. 84,5% didn't need to return to the Psychiatric Hospital and 75% felt more safe after moving to community based settings. The statistical analysis showed that women were more satisfied by nutrition, p=0,006. According to age, participants of 30-39 years old were more satisfied by the educational and professional opportunities but also more satisfied financially, p=


Working beyond mainstream practice, Derek Jarman creates films that are unusually musical. Caravaggio, a biography of the artist, is a case in point. Jarman's collaboration with composer Simon Fischer Turner from the start of the filmmaking process enables music to assume a structural role, a procedure that turns common music-image interaction on its head in two ways. First, rather than strive for the audio-visual fusion common to many mainstream films, music and image are here juxtaposed. Second, as music becomes audible, the film's illusion of realism is destroyed. This article explores how Jarman's challenge to conventional filmmaking procedure can expose the fragility of reception history by comparing visual, literary, and musical versions of Caravaggio's biography.


Even at the highest levels of organizations, many otherwise dynamic women struggle in meetings. Some say their voices are drowned out; others can't find a way into the conversation at all. Their male counterparts perceive a problem, but they tend to dismiss it as resulting from timidity, defensiveness, lack of focus, or excessive emotion. Drawing on interviews, surveys, and decades of work as leadership coaches, the authors suggest steps women can take to feel more comfortable and become more effective. Women should master the "pre-meeting," connecting with colleagues to test ideas and gather support; come to meetings armed with cogent comments and questions that can move the conversation forward; keep an even keel, speaking in measured tones and being careful not to signal frustration through sarcasm or curtness; and move past confrontation without taking it personally. Bosses can also help ensure that women's voices are heard, by providing direct feedback about meeting behavior, inviting more women to the table, and proactively pulling women into the conversation. These changes can have profound results, enabling all team members, male and female, to contribute to their full potential. INSETS: MAKE YOUR LANGUAGE MORE MUSCULAR;HE SAID SHE SAID.


The Ultraviolet(UV) component of the solar spectrum is responsible for skin damage manifested in the form of erythema, photoaging as well as carcinogenic effects (Kligman, 1969). Ultraviolet B (280-320 nm) Portion of the solar irradiation causes free radical generation skin. Free radicals are species characterized by an odd number of orbital electrons or by pairs of electrons of similar directional spin isolated singly in separate orbitals. Consequently, most of these agents are highly reactive and usually exhibit an extremely short half life. Due to their highly reactive nature, these species have a potentially damaging effect on skin (Al Barwani and Potten, 1985) resulting in sunburn reactions.

This study was designed to observe, histologically, the damaging effects of Ultraviolet B radiation on various parts of skin like the stratum corneum and the epidermis, and to study the protective effect of anti-oxidants, using an animal model. The possible applications of findings from the animal model was then studied on protection of human skin against the different parts of the solar spectrum; the UV-A and R.

The data from these studies suggest that low level chronic exposures to UV can lead to alteration of the skin like epidermal thickening and appearance of sunburn cells. The data also indicates that a mix of common anti-oxidants and free radical scavengers are photoprotective against chronic skin damage in hairless mousse skin model

Treatment with anti-oxidants prior to exposure to solar irradiation allows protection of human skin against UV-B, UV-A as well as IR. From this study it is clear that anti-oxidant and free radical scavengers can be valuable tools, especially in addition to traditional sunscreens, for protection of skin against the formidable effects of long term chronic actinic exposure, namely skin cancer and photoaging.


Nano-polycrystalline diamond (NPD) has higher hardness, toughness, elastic stiffness, and X-ray and light transmittance than conventional sintered diamond (SD). These properties make it suitable for use as an anvil material in high-pressure experiments. Kawai-type multi-anvil apparatus (KMA) has been widely used in high-pressure experiments, where accurately controlled pressure and temperature in larger sample volumes relative to diamond anvil cell are available using tungsten carbide (WC) or SD as the second-stage anvil materials. However, the generated pressures in KMA with these conventional anvils at high temperatures have been limited to about 40 GPa and 100 GPa, respectively, by using these materials as the anvils. We have been attempting to generate further higher pressures using NPD cubes with the "6-6-8" anvil configurations. In situ X-ray diffraction measurements and radiographic imaging observations were performed at the large-volume press beamline, BL04B1, SPring-8. Baked pyrophyllite gasket and semi-sintered Al2O3 pressure medium were used, and a folded gold foil was placed in the center of the pressure medium as a pressure marker. The maximum pressure so far achieved at room temperature is about 88 GPa at a press load of 3.4 MN, which is far higher than that achieved using SD anvils (~56 GPa) with the identical cell assembly and the press load. Moreover, it was found that both in situ X-ray diffraction measurements and imaging observations are possible even through the NPD anvils, which is great advantage over the experiments using SD anvils where the invisibility of the sample becomes a serious issue due to the plastic deformation of anvils under such high pressure. Thus, we conclude NPD is highly promising anvil material for the next generation KMA technology. SIT22-P05 JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017


The accessory gene regulator (agr) quorum-sensing system is one of the major regulators of virulence factor production in the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Activation of the system depends on the production and sensing of a cyclic peptide signal called the autoinducing peptide (AIP). The biosynthesis of AIP depends on the coordinated action of the AgrB integral membrane endopeptidase and SpsB signal peptidase to process the peptide precursor AgrD into the final signal structure. The primary goal of this dissertation was to gain further insight on the role of AgrD and AgrB in the AIP biosynthesis mechanism. Studies in Chapter II were undertaken to better understand the role of AgrD domains in AgrB-mediated processing. A series of truncation and site-directed mutagenesis studies identified key residues in the AgrD C-terminus that were essential for AgrB processing and AIP production. In parallel, genetic manipulation of the Nterminal leader and AIP-encoding sequence revealed a role for these segments in AIP processing. For the first time, a complex of AgrD covalently linked to AgrB was identified, supporting proposals that this intermediate is an important precursor to AIP production. In Chapter III structure-function studies were performed on AgrB to gain further insight into the AIP biosynthetic mechanism. Initially, the agrBD genes were subjected to random mutagenesis and screened for deficiencies in AIP production. Single-site mutations at 20 different residues within AgrB and another 14 in AgrD were isolated. Interestingly, new mutations in the AgrD N-terminal leader were identified that affect AIP biosynthesis at different steps. In AgrB, most of the mutations blocked peptidase activity, but charge alterations to the K129-K131 region were defective in a later pathway step, separating the peptidase function from AIP ring formation and transport. To localize the AgrB mutations, we reevaluated the membrane topology using the substituted


There is extensive literature on the description of joint probability distributions via graphs, where each node represents a random variable and the edges describe a form of coupling among the variables. The connections in these graphical models do not necessarily represent forms of input/output relations among the variables involved. Instead, they typically represent a convenient factorization of their joint probability distribution. For these factorizations to be mathematically meaningful, the underlying graph structure is required to have no directed cycles. Thus, graphical models of random variables typically deal with directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). Conversely, in the area of dynamic systems, and especially control theory, it is common to find network models involving stochastic processes that influence each other according to a directed graph. In this case the graph connections do indeed represent a input/output relations and feedback loops may be present, as well. As a consequence, the network structures underlying graphical models of random variables and networks of dynamic systems differ fundamentally. Furthermore, it is not a straightforward task to unify or reconcile these two semantically different graph descriptions. Indeed, introducing a notion of factorization in networks of dynamic systems would present technical difficulties due not only to the potential presence of loops, but also to the fact that stochastic processes involve an infinite number of random variables. Despite these differences, it has become evident during recent years that methodologies can be borrowed from probabilistic graphical models and used for the analysis, identification and control design in the domain of networks of dynamic systems and viceversa. Some of these methodologies can be imported with no significant modifications, while others need to be substantially revisited. This article is an attempt to bridge the conceptual and methodological gap between graphical models of random variables and networks of dynamic systems, creating a single unified language and theoretical framework for these two different classes. This is achieved by drawing parallels between similar approaches and highlighting their main differences.


The 20CaO-(80-x)B 2 O 3 -xZnO glasses were prepared by melt quenching technique (where x=0, 5, 15 and 20 mol%) in order to study in the physical and optical properties. These glass compositions were heated to 1200 o C for 3 hours and annealed at 500 o C for 3 hours. Clear glass samples were obtained from these compositions. The density, molar volume, refractive index, optical spectra (in the wavelength of 190-1100 nm), optical band gap, optical basicity and polarizability of glass samples have been investigated in this work.


In this work, the intramolecular proton transfer (IPT) mechanisms of 5-(3-hydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-2-yl)thiophene-2-carbaldehyde (3-HTCA) and 2-((5-(3-hydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)methylene)malononitrile (3-HTC-DiCN) have been systematically investigated. The constructed potential energy curves (PECs) of 3-HTCA and 3-HTC-DiCN in the ground state (S0) and first-excited singlet electronic state (S1) indicate that the ground state intramolecular proton transfer process is difficult to take place due to the high potential barriers (13.72 kcal mol−1 and 13.25 kcal mol−1 respectively); in comparison, the intramolecular proton transfer reaction occurs more readily with the H atom removing from the O atom of the O–H moiety to the O atom of the CO moiety after photo-excitation. The relative size of the reaction barriers of 3-HTCA (4.24 kcal mol−1) and 3-HTC-DiCN (6.43 kcal mol−1) in the S1 state well explains the difference in their experimental fluorescence spectra. Based on the stable structures on PECs, the electronic spectra were simulated by the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method. The experimental absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectrum were well reproduced by calculating the vertical excitation energies of 3-HTCA and 3-HTC-DiCN. Moreover, the charge redistribution and charge-transfer character during photo-excitation were discussed in detail through the frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, which rationalizes the changes in the hydrogen bond strength and the ESIPT process of 3-HTCA and 3-HTC-DiCN.


Deregulation, technology, and financial innovation are transforming banking. Indeed, banking is no longer the business it was even a few decades ago. The way banking services are provided has changed dramatically, and in many countries they are even offered by institutions that are quite different from traditional banks. As the old institutional demarcations become increasingly irrelevant, increased competition from other intermediaries has led to a decline in traditional banking in which banks took deposits and made loans that stayed on their books to maturity. Banks thus have been moving rapidly into new areas of business. In this evolving financial environment, the international banking community and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are currently wrestling with pinning down an appropriate regulatory framework. The regulatory response to these changes has been a move away from the increasingly ineffective command-and-control regulations to greater reliance on assessing the internal risk-management systems, the supervision of banks, and more effective market discipline. In the language of the New Basel Accord, this represents a shift in emphasis away from capital-adequacy rules toward supervision and market discipline. This paper provides an overview of the profound and rapid changes brought about by technology and deregulation, and discusses the hurdles that will have to be negotiated for putting in place a suitable regulatory framework. On the one hand, inadequate resolution of these challenges will create the wrong incentives and lead to banking fragility. On the other hand, overregulation carries the danger that it will retard the development of national financial systems, hinder the best use of available domestic savings, prevent countries from accessing international capital, and ultimately lead to slower growth. Developed financial systems are being challenged by the shift in regulatory focus, and the definition and implementation of appropriate regulatory standards is encountering substantial difficulties. Finding the right balance between regulation, supervision, and reliance on market discipline is likely to be even more difficult in developing and transition countries.


In many countries, competing health plans receive capitation payments from a sponsor, whether government or a private employer. All capitation payment methods are far from perfect and have raised concerns about risk selection. Paying health plans partly on the basis of capitation and partly on the basis of actual costs ("risk sharing") reduces plans' incentives for selection but sacrifices some incentives for efficiency. This paper summarizes our empirical research on Dutch health plans with respect to various forms of risk sharing. All sponsors can improve their payment systems by either implementing or changing their form of risk sharing.


A new printed microstrip Yagi array antenna is proposed that can achieve a high gain and low backside radiation for various applications up to the millimeter-wave frequency range. The high front-to-back (F/B) ratio (up to 15 dB) is attributed to the constructive interference that takes place between the individual printed Yagi arrays in the design. Through the spacing of the elements, the directivity (between 9-11.5 dBi) and the F/B ratio can be altered to suit the application of interest. The operational principles of this design are discussed to give insight on the radiation mechanism of the antenna. An initial design at around 32.5 GHz is presented to show the performance capabilities of this configuration. An impedance bandwidth of 8.3% can be achieved around this frequency. Then, a parametric analysis is conducted to estimate the significance of the design parameters that affect the antenna's performance. Finally, measured return loss and radiation pattern performance at 5.2 GHz is displayed to validate the principles and simulated results of the design. The measured impedance bandwidth of 10% is achieved. The F/B ratio is 15 dB which is larger than values previously published by 5-10 dB. Additionally, a gain of 10.7 dBi is observed. To the author's knowledge, this is the first microstrip Yagi array antenna presented that has a high gain and a high F/B ratio designed using simple fabrication techniques


The author evaluates the performance of bufferless optical packet switches equipped with shared tuneable optical wavelength converters (TOWC) and supporting the quality of service (QoS). The TOWCs are shared per output fibre and, hence each output fibre has a dedicated pool of TOWCs. The TOWCs are not completely shared within the node. The QoS, expressed in terms of the packet loss probability, is differentiated by giving the packets different priorities in accessing both the output wavelengths and the TOWCs. A scheduling algorithm is proposed and its complexity is evaluated. The QoS technique's effectiveness is studied by means of an analytical model based on a probabilistic approach and validated by simulation results. The results show that the proposed technique to support the QoS facilitates a good differentiation of the QoS offered to packets.


Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv., golden German millet, Italian millet) use as a fodder in Saskatchewan is currently increasing especially for swath grazing. Using Foxtail millet in swath grazing can extend the grazing season and reduce the cost of feeding cattle in the winter (McCaughey, et al. 2002; May et al. 2007). For this practice to be successful inexpensive weed control measures are needed. Foxtail millet's growth in the spring can be slow under cool conditions, allowing broadleaf weeds to get established and reduce the biomass of the foxtail millet. Currently, only bromoxynil and bentazone (Basagran Forté) are registered for use in Saskatchewan. The weed sprectrum of bromoxynil does not control several weeds including Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.) and cleavers (Galium aparine L.). Bentazone is expensive and requires larger water volumes than growers are willing to use. Therefore, improved control options for foxtail millet are required.


An analytic approach is presented for estimating the nonlinearity of an analog to digital converter (ADC) as a function of the variations in the circuit devices. The approach is demonstrated for the case of a pipeline ADC with digital error correction. Under some mild assumptions on the expected variations, the error probability is expressed as a simple explicit function of the standard deviations in the components' parameters: gain errors, comparator offset errors and resistor errors. The analytical expression is verified for Integral Non Linearity (INL), and its limits are studied using Monte-Carlo simulations of a 10 bit pipeline ADC structure.


Deals with the simulation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) raw signal of actual ground sites described in terms of sparse input data. Since in most cases the input data reference system does not match SAR requirements, it is necessary to adopt appropriate interpolation schemes. The authors focus their attention on elevation input data, noting that natural surfaces exhibit fractal properties. Fractal and nonfractal interpolation schemes are discussed and applied. Simulated images are shown and compared to actual examples. Subjective and objective tests validate the simulation and support the fractal-based elevation interpolation. >


Poor regulation and supervision have been noted as contributing factors to the recent financial crisis. The objective of banking regulation is to increase a bank's solvency and liquidity in order to better absorb financial and economic shocks and to create a stable financial sector. The "public interest view," represented by governments acting on behalf of the public, strive to generate a stable financial sector, while the "private interest view," represented by banks and lobbyists, claim that regulations impede banking activities, its ability to be profitable and provide lending opportunities, thereby adversely impacting economic growth. Admati et al. (2010) argue that under higher capital regulations, banks would be able to make better, more socially optimal lending decisions, while maintaining the same lending levels. Using this idea, this paper demonstrates that under regulatory standards that promote financial and economic stability, banks can still be profitable and engage in lending activities. Using an econometric model loosely based on Beltratti and Stulz (2012), bank-specific determinants (based on Basel III recommended regulations) and regulation-specific determinants are used to determine the effect on bank profitability, thereby impacting a bank's lending to support economic growth. The analysis was performed on systemically important banks in the period leading up to the 2007-09 financial crisis. Overall, it was found that Tier 1 capital is positively related to bank profitability and leverage is negatively related to bank profitability. Interestingly, the deposit ratio is negatively related to profits and the liquidity ratio is not significant. The results for the regulatory-specific determinants are conflicting regarding profitability. While the results imply that greater supervisory power implies higher bank profitability, tighter restrictions on bank activities decrease profitability. The resulting estimated equation predicts that under Basel III regulations, banks can still be profitable, continue lending activities, and contribute to economic growth.


Demands on reporting and communication of the sustainability performance within a company as well as externally and how the demands on continuous improvement are fulfilled, has led to a development and also standardisation of sustainability indicators and indices. In shipping, like in all sectors, numerous indices or reporting systems have been developed and are used for various purposes. The aim has often been for communication with cargo owners and passengers, but also to be used as a basis for economic incentives intended to decrease emissions in ports and fairways. With increased demands on aspects included, it is obvious that a future sustainability index for shipping needs to include social and economic aspects in addition to natural environment and resource use. The present report is a pre-study with a review on existing indices in the shipping sector, and an outlook to other areas, followed by a discussion on possible development paths of more comprehensive sustainability indices. The conclusions are: The available environmental indices for shipping are many and there are initiatives, like CSI, that cover many relevant aspects. However, the indices are not very developed what concerns working conditions or socioeconomic costs. Also, economic parameters describing the ship-owner as a company are not included. The scrapping process foreseen for a ship can be further developed and included in indices. For further development, the following is suggested: • Develop indicators that can be used for describing work environment with the goal of introduction into an index. • The development of socioeconomic cost assessments, for example in terms of ecosystem services, is interesting and could be included in indices in the future. It is recommended that this development is followed for future use. • At the moment, there is not an easy way to include the economic dimension in terms of economic stability of the company in an index, but this should be further investigated. • The possible use of MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) in indices should be evaluated.


We report on noise temperature measurements for a NbN phonon-cooled hot-electron mixer at radiation frequencies between 0.9 THz and 1.2 THz. Radiation was coupled to the mixer, placed in a vacuum chamber of He cryostat, by means of a planar spiral antenna and a Si immersion lens. A backward-wave oscillator, tunable throughout the spectral range, delivered an output power of few 1.1W that was enough for optimum operation of the mixer. At 4.2 K ambient temperature and 1.025 THz radiation frequency, we obtained a receiver noise temperature of 1550 K despite of using a relatively noisy room-temperature amplifier at the intermediate frequency port. The noise temperature was fairly constant throughout the entire operation range and for intermediate frequencies from 1 GHz to 2 GHz.


This paper presents new efficient shortest path algorithms to solve single origin shortest path problems (SOSP problems) and multiple origins shortest path problems (MOSP problems) for hierarchically clustered data networks. To solve an SOSP problem for a network with n nodes, the distributed version of our algorithm reaches the time complexity of O(log(n)), which is less than the time complexity of O(log/sup 2/ (n)) achieved by the best existing algorithm. To solve an MOSP problem, our algorithm minimizes the needed computation resources, including computation processors and communication links for the computation of each shortest path so that we can achieve massive parallelization. The time complexity of our algorithm for an MOSP problem is O(m log(n)), which is much less than the time complexity of O(M log/sup 2/ (0)) of the best previous algorithm. Here, M is the number of the shortest paths to be computed and m is a positive number related to the network topology and the distribution of the nodes incurring communications, m is usually much smaller than M. Our experiment shows that m is almost a constant when the network size increases. Accordingly, our algorithm is significantly faster than the best previous algorithms to solve MOSP problems for large data networks.


We propose a new hypothesis for the origin of the major part of non-solar hadronic cosmic rays (CRs) at all energies: highly relativistic, narrowly collimated jets from the birth or collapse of neutron stars (NSs) in our Galaxy accelerate ambient disk and halo matter to CR energies and disperse it in hot spots which they form when they stop in the Galactic halo. Such events are seen as cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in other galaxies when their beamed radiation happens to point towards Earth. This source of CRs is located in the Galactic halo. It therefore explains the absence of the Greisen-ZatsepinKuz'min cutoff in the spectrum of the ultra-high energy CRs. The position in energy of the "ankle" in the CR energy spectrum is shown to arise in a natural way. Moreover, an origin of lower energy CRs in the Galactic halo naturally accounts for the high degree of isotropy of CRs around 100 TeV from airshower observations, and the small galactocentric gradient of low-energy CRs derived from gamma-ray observations.


Advancement in communication and transport technologies has reduced the world to a global community. This has also improved and therefore increased potentials for the movement of individuals, commodities, and capitals across international borders as they respond to global political and socio-economic stimuli. It is apparent though, that transnational borders are relatively more open to capital and commodities than they are to migrant individuals. However, there are vast literature and data on the socio-political and economic dimensions of adults' involvement in international migration. But the youth are treated as part of their families; hence very few literatures that devoted to youth migration exist. But movement of young adults as independent transnational migrants is an emerging trend in international migration. In this paper, I examined existing perspectives on causes, trend and flow of the 21st century youth transnational migration with a view to providing appropriate lenses for understanding the phenomenon, particularly as it affects the contemporary massive flow of youth from developing African economies to the industrialized Europe. Reviewed literature focused on the "push and pull" factors considered to be wielding major influence on migration-decisions of transnational migrant subjects. Push and pull approaches essentially construct immigrants as problems to receiving countries. This paper advances the understanding of youth migration from indigenous and anti-colonial perspective in order to disrupt and disturb existing approaches and give a more pellucid lens for understanding this emerging social trend. Significant attempt was made in this paper to highlight the often overlooked outcome of transnational migration which, to the sending and receiving nations, has both positive and negative reflexes. The underlying assumption of the theoretical approach is that any appropriate theory that will inform meaningful migration policy formulation on youth transnational-migration experiences, must consider the cultural environment of these youth. It must as a matter of necessity consider the influence of colonization and neo-colonial processes on their remote social spaces, and engage relevant strategies to establish ways in which reinventing the indigenous worldviews subverted by colonization can equip and empower local youth, thereby balancing, if not reducing the negative trend in transnational youth migration.


Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is a common malignant tumor in the head and neck, the 5-year relative survival rate of patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer was estimated to be 61% from 2012 to 2018. An increasing number of studies have shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a key role in the occurrence and development of cancer and may function as cancer biomarkers and new therapeutic targets. At present, the research on the relationship between circRNAs and LSCC is still in its infancy and needs further exploration. In this study, we found a circRNA (hsa_circ_0001445) associated with LSCC based on bioinformatics analysis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay indicated that the expression of hsa_circ_0001445 was down-regulated in LSCC tissues and cell lines. Notably, the expression of hsa_circ_0001445 was negatively correlated with aggressive clinicopathological features and poor prognosis. Then, functional experiments found that overexpression of hsa_circ_0001445 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of LSCC cells and tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), biotin-labeled probe pull-down, luciferase reporter assay and western blot experiments were employed and found that EIF4A3 reduced the expression of hsa_circ_0001445, and the direct binding of hsa_circ_0001445 to hsa-miR-432-5p attenuated the inhibitory effect of hsa-miR-432-5p on RGMA. In summary, our research suggests that hsa_circ_0001445 may be used as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for LSCC.


These are two case studies of using the non seismic (geoelectrical measurements) to investigate the groundwater in the areas of agricultural activities and irrigation purposes which in turn depend on the groundwater of the quaternary aquifer, which is considered the main source for groundwater in the area, and recommend the proper way for drilling. The Paleochannels at Wadi Murikhat and Wadi Sa'a at Al-Ain of UAE are of important target to be detected through the 2D-electrical tomography Survey. Eleven (2D) profiles along these wadies in the area guided with the available borehole data. The 2-D resistivity tomograms of the eleven profiles indicate remarkably the different hydrostratigraphic units of the quaternary aquifer along the eastern margin of Al Jaww plain. Erosional unconformities at the base of the quaternary alluvium are traced along some of the 2-D profiles. These unconformities represent the paleochannels in the bed rock that were formed in the geological past by the ancient wadies. As well as another case study where, the water differs in its quality along short distances over the area at the Eastern Nile Delta of Egypt. The main goal of this study is to find the probable reasons for these differences in the water quality and recommend the proper way for drilling in the area, to investigate the good quality underground water. Twenty five vertical electrical sounding (VES) were carried out in the area using the Schlumberger's array. The lithological and hydrological data from boreholes were used to relate the interpreted resistivity variations of VES conducted over some of these boreholes. Water samples are collected from the available nine wells to evaluate the hydrological characters as the salinity which is a dominant factor in the study area to control the interpreted resisitvity of the aquifers. The interpretation of these soundings revealed that, the area has been crossed by a buried channel, which is believed to be of the Pleistocene prenile distributaries. The groundwater occurrence could be divided into shallow and deep fresh water aquifers separated by saline water one of marine Miocene sediments. The Miocene sediments affect negatively on the groundwater quality, water wells have to be located along the proposed site of the buried channel and above the highest structures, to avoid the Miocene sediments.


The project scheduling problem is known as a NP-hard problem in literature. In this research, a resource constrained project scheduling problem which is known as a NP-Hard problem is considered. This problem has attracted many researchers during recent years. The aim of this problem is to determine the optimal starting times of activities considering both precedence and available resources constraints such that the total project completion time is minimized. In this paper a combination of discount based pricing policy and project scheduling is proposed, whereas in classical models it is assumed that price of required resources is fixed. To solve the proposed model, a hybrid algorithm based on two algorithms, i.e. genetic algorithm and variable neighborhood search is proposed. In this method, genetic algorithm as a main framework and variable neighborhood search as a new operator are designed. Moreover, since the parameter values of evolutionary algorithms have great influences on algorithm efficiency, to set the parameters of proposed algorithm a new statistical approach based on stepwise regression technique is devised. Computational results show the good performance of proposed approach with regard to the other methods.


One of the main causes of acute respiratory distress syndrome in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is cytokine storm, although the exact cause is still unknown. Umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (UC‐MSCs) influence proinflammatory T‐helper 2 (Th2) cells to shift to an anti‐inflammatory agent. To investigate efficacy of UC‐MSC administration as adjuvant therapy in critically ill patients with COVID‐19, we conducted a double‐blind, multicentered, randomized controlled trial at four COVID‐19 referral hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia. This study included 40 randomly allocated critically ill patients with COVID‐19; 20 patients received an intravenous infusion of 1 × 106/kg body weight UC‐MSCs in 100 ml saline (0.9%) solution (SS) and 20 patients received 100 ml 0.9% SS as the control group. All patients received standard therapy. The primary outcome was measured by survival rate and/or length of ventilator usage. The secondary outcome was measured by clinical and laboratory improvement, with serious adverse events. Our study showed the survival rate in the UC‐MSCs group was 2.5 times higher than that in the control group (P = .047), which is 10 patients and 4 patients in the UC‐MSCs and control groups, respectively. In patients with comorbidities, UC‐MSC administration increased the survival rate by 4.5 times compared with controls. The length of stay in the intensive care unit and ventilator usage were not statistically significant, and no adverse events were reported. The application of infusion UC‐MSCs significantly decreased interleukin 6 in the recovered patients (P = .023). Therefore, application of intravenous UC‐MSCs as adjuvant treatment for critically ill patients with COVID‐19 increases the survival rate by modulating the immune system toward an anti‐inflammatory state.


This article reports on a study of the reflective journals produced by a sample of undergraduate university students in which they consider the relevance of questions surrounding race and racism to their own lives, based on their engagement with post-colonial literature. Using a discourse analytic framework, the article focuses on the discursive frames that structure respondents' reflections on the different manifestations of racism after 1994. We discuss the influence of the politeness protocol across the findings, based on Sue (2013), and interpret the findings by drawing on narratives of ambiguity in Soudien (2010). Finally, we make suggestions as to the pedagogic implications of the results by linking our study with Leonardo and Porter's (2010) theorisation of safety in race dialogue.